More than three million second-generation smart meters have now been installed in the UK, new figures from the Data Communications Company have revealed.
The DCC recorded the milestone three-millionth installation in Mickleover, Derby, last week, in a property visited by British Gas.
Angus Flett, the chief executive of DCC said that the number of SMETS2 continues to grow “at pace”, having tripled in just over three months, adding that credit was due to everyone involved in this “huge collective effort.”
“We’ve also seen traffic volume increase, with over half-a-billion messages securely travelling over the network so far this year. That proves the robustness of our network and its expanding potential.”
On average, each of these meters produces 28 messages a month, and 60% of these are daily bursts of readings. As such, in October alone more than 86 million messages travelled through the DCC’s network.
“Our network is a platform for good, and the data flowing across it is paving the way for better use of renewable energy. The DCC is making Britain more connected so we can all lead smarter, greener lives,” Flett said
News of the rollout gathering speed – installs hit the two million mark in September, after hitting one million in May – will be welcomed, but the pace is still someway off coming close to what’s necessary for the supply industry to hit its target, even despite the deadline being extended until 2024.
The original deadline for the smart meter rollout was 2020, however it has since been pushed back to 2024 following suppliers saying that next year was impossible. There will be a 15% tolerance with the new target.
In June, Cornwall Insight said that over 50,000 smart meters will need to be installed every day to meet the 2020 targets, further highlighting the scale of the challenge.
The DCC opened a new national control centre for smart meter testing and data visibility. The site has 2,400 smart meters in it, allowing the DCC to visualise and analyse national smart meter data at “unprecedented” levels and complexity, it said. It is hoped that this will help to smooth the smart meter rollout.
